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Alright, guys I couldn't help it. I was going to do this thread on Tuesday/Wednesday, but my excitement is like Jarnell Stokes...it just can't be contained.
It's the first game. There will be some feeling out to the game. I wouldn't take too much from this game. However, this is a little bit more important than your normal first game with the Puerto Rico Tournament right after Friday's game. Let's get to it.
1. How many touches Jarnell Stokes gets.
Coach Martin's biggest complaint so far this preseason is that the team isn't getting Jarnell the ball enough...or to put it more aptly, not enough to his liking. Coach Martin wants the ball to go through Jarnell somehow, someway on offense every play when he is in there. Jarnell is the focal point of the offense.
So the question is (in a game where you can get your numbers pretty easily), will the guards go to Jarnell early and often? If not, it could be a bad sign. Jarnell needs to get comfortable being "THE MAN" on the team. This is a good game to get him going with the PRT coming up and without Jeronne Maymon.
2. The wing rotation.
All five players expected to get minutes (Skylar McBee, Jordan McRae, Josh Richardson, D'Montre Edwards, and Quinton Chievous) have shined in the preseason according to various reports. Coach Martin basically opened up both wing spots and let it be a full out competition for playing time. It's worked because all five guys have improved.
Right now, if I had to guess, McBee and McRae will start (based off reports from the Sunday scrimmage against Georgia Tech), but Josh Richardson might be the most improved player in the camp. Whenever Quinton Chievous' name comes up, all you hear is great things from the staff. He's very physical and can guard three positions. And D'Montre Edwards is going to do the little things: good defense, crash the boards, and hit open shots.
Right now, if I had to guess, I think all guys will get at minimum of ten minutes. Chievous will probably play more at the four with the injury to Maymon at the beginning. I think you'll see a lot of McRae and Richardson to see if their improvements in the offseason are for real. And Skylar McBee will play a good portion of minutes. He's improved as a shooter this year. That's a scary thought.
3. The team's play without Jeronne Maymon.
Latest reports about Maymon's knee are good. It's not as bad as originally thought and that he should be ready to go late November or early December.
However, it looks unlikely Maymon will play in the Puerto Rico Tournament. That means the Vols lost their most consistent player from last year for a big regular season tournament. Maymon's best attribute was his ability to bring consistent rebounding and his ability to have good things happen when he received the ball in the post, whether by a basket or getting to the free throw line. The Vols have lost that and that hurts the team.
You won't be able to replace Maymon's scoring with Yemi Makanjoula and Kenny Hall. However, these two bring bigger upside defensively, especially shot blocking. Right now, all you can ask from Hallanjoula (see what I did there?) is crash the boards hard, do well on help defense, and don't have turnovers. Reports from camp are that Kenny Hall has a fifteen foot jump shot. If he can hit that, it open things up for Jarnell Stokes. But at this point, just consistency on defense and rebounding from the two big man would be extremely good.
Also, keep an eye for Quinton Chievous at the 4. He just goes out and attacks. He could be hellacious against smaller lineups if Kennesaw State goes with a four guard lineup.
4. How the motion offense does.
Tennessee can just run Kennesaw State out of the gym with their athletes, but that won't be best for the Vols. Tennessee has to figure out if the motion offense is in sync. I thought last year's biggest problem with the offense was the lack of spacing and I felt the off ball screens were just not efficient enough to create open shots (which leads to lack of spacing).
This is year two of the motion offense. Will UT run the offense, instead of jogging it like they did at points last year? Tennessee has to set better screens, and get into their offense quicker. Also, this goes with point number one. They have the run the ball through Jarnell Stokes (and later Jeronne Maymon) and feed him the ball consistently.
5. The zone offense.
This can go with point number four, but I'm running out of material and this is very important still. Teams with with lack of size will zone Tennessee. With Tennessee having the advantage inside Friday, and last year's end of season disasters against zone defenses, Kennesaw State is going to go into a 2-3 zone. A good amount too.
Tennessee has to keep the motion alive, and run the offense through the high post. Too many times a guy would get the ball and the offense stopped. That can't happen this season. Tennessee's outside shooting must be more consistent in this game. Hopefully Tennessee will attack more on the dribble this year and be able to kick it to open shooters. This is where Trae Golden and Jordan McRae can really help. They drive the basket better than anyone else on the roster and they must be aggressive to create open shots on the perimeter and in the paint when the defense collapses.
It's the first game. There will be some feeling out to the game. I wouldn't take too much from this game. However, this is a little bit more important than your normal first game with the Puerto Rico Tournament right after Friday's game. Let's get to it.
1. How many touches Jarnell Stokes gets.
Coach Martin's biggest complaint so far this preseason is that the team isn't getting Jarnell the ball enough...or to put it more aptly, not enough to his liking. Coach Martin wants the ball to go through Jarnell somehow, someway on offense every play when he is in there. Jarnell is the focal point of the offense.
So the question is (in a game where you can get your numbers pretty easily), will the guards go to Jarnell early and often? If not, it could be a bad sign. Jarnell needs to get comfortable being "THE MAN" on the team. This is a good game to get him going with the PRT coming up and without Jeronne Maymon.
2. The wing rotation.
All five players expected to get minutes (Skylar McBee, Jordan McRae, Josh Richardson, D'Montre Edwards, and Quinton Chievous) have shined in the preseason according to various reports. Coach Martin basically opened up both wing spots and let it be a full out competition for playing time. It's worked because all five guys have improved.
Right now, if I had to guess, McBee and McRae will start (based off reports from the Sunday scrimmage against Georgia Tech), but Josh Richardson might be the most improved player in the camp. Whenever Quinton Chievous' name comes up, all you hear is great things from the staff. He's very physical and can guard three positions. And D'Montre Edwards is going to do the little things: good defense, crash the boards, and hit open shots.
Right now, if I had to guess, I think all guys will get at minimum of ten minutes. Chievous will probably play more at the four with the injury to Maymon at the beginning. I think you'll see a lot of McRae and Richardson to see if their improvements in the offseason are for real. And Skylar McBee will play a good portion of minutes. He's improved as a shooter this year. That's a scary thought.
3. The team's play without Jeronne Maymon.
Latest reports about Maymon's knee are good. It's not as bad as originally thought and that he should be ready to go late November or early December.
However, it looks unlikely Maymon will play in the Puerto Rico Tournament. That means the Vols lost their most consistent player from last year for a big regular season tournament. Maymon's best attribute was his ability to bring consistent rebounding and his ability to have good things happen when he received the ball in the post, whether by a basket or getting to the free throw line. The Vols have lost that and that hurts the team.
You won't be able to replace Maymon's scoring with Yemi Makanjoula and Kenny Hall. However, these two bring bigger upside defensively, especially shot blocking. Right now, all you can ask from Hallanjoula (see what I did there?) is crash the boards hard, do well on help defense, and don't have turnovers. Reports from camp are that Kenny Hall has a fifteen foot jump shot. If he can hit that, it open things up for Jarnell Stokes. But at this point, just consistency on defense and rebounding from the two big man would be extremely good.
Also, keep an eye for Quinton Chievous at the 4. He just goes out and attacks. He could be hellacious against smaller lineups if Kennesaw State goes with a four guard lineup.
4. How the motion offense does.
Tennessee can just run Kennesaw State out of the gym with their athletes, but that won't be best for the Vols. Tennessee has to figure out if the motion offense is in sync. I thought last year's biggest problem with the offense was the lack of spacing and I felt the off ball screens were just not efficient enough to create open shots (which leads to lack of spacing).
This is year two of the motion offense. Will UT run the offense, instead of jogging it like they did at points last year? Tennessee has to set better screens, and get into their offense quicker. Also, this goes with point number one. They have the run the ball through Jarnell Stokes (and later Jeronne Maymon) and feed him the ball consistently.
5. The zone offense.
This can go with point number four, but I'm running out of material and this is very important still. Teams with with lack of size will zone Tennessee. With Tennessee having the advantage inside Friday, and last year's end of season disasters against zone defenses, Kennesaw State is going to go into a 2-3 zone. A good amount too.
Tennessee has to keep the motion alive, and run the offense through the high post. Too many times a guy would get the ball and the offense stopped. That can't happen this season. Tennessee's outside shooting must be more consistent in this game. Hopefully Tennessee will attack more on the dribble this year and be able to kick it to open shooters. This is where Trae Golden and Jordan McRae can really help. They drive the basket better than anyone else on the roster and they must be aggressive to create open shots on the perimeter and in the paint when the defense collapses.
